Final Thoughts on World Cruise 2017

Everyone on the WC & officers & crew (we are on the lower left, you need to zoom in to see us...lol)

It’s impossible not to make comparisons between this WC and the one we did in 2013. That said, as I point out differences it doesn’t mean that it was a bad cruise or that we didn’t have a great time and of course thrilled to have been able to go around the world again. Honestly, the shipboard experience is secondary to touring and enjoying the ports.

In 2013, we truly felt like it was a World Cruise. This one felt more like a segment cruise. It seemed we were made to feel like we were intruding on their segment. It was just a lot of little things. I just wanted to make the clarification that the passengers in no way made us feel like we were intruding. Intruding was a poor choice of words on my part. It was really Princess making such a big deal out of the segments with little regard to those of us on the Full World Cruise. 

It started when we got to LA where they said it was the “official” start of the World Cruise. Our menus and entertainment started over and repeated exactly as it did from Lauderdale. The Princess Patter when we started in Lauderdale said day 1 of 111 days. When we got to LA, it said day 1 of 111 days. We didn’t complain, but some people did and they then put Lauderdale’s countdown on one page and the LA countdown on the other.

The food has been very repetitious. We had some dishes repeat last time, but not as frequently. This time with each segment, it seemed to start over. (with some repeats even during that time) While the food in the Steakhouse was better this year, the food in general just wasn’t as well prepared in the buffet or the dining room. The pastries were heavy. Anything with a crust needed a hammer and chisel to eat it. A simple tartlet wasn’t edible, except to eat the center out of it.

Sunday Brunches in 2013 were held on any Sunday at Sea, this time only one per segment. Sunday Brunches in 2013 either had crab legs & claws, lobsters, or Shrimp each time plus all of the other choices, this time it was more themed cuisines with none of the above shellfish. Yes, they were still elaborate and yummy!

There were very few Pub Lunches this time around. It’s an optional no charge lunch in one of the specialty restaurants that rotate 2 menus of Pub Food. (fish & Chips, Bangers and Mash, steak & kidney pie, fried shrimp, Scotch eggs, Ploughman’s lunch and a few other choices. They normally are held on many of the sea days, but there have been long stretches without them.

Changing the early dining to 5:15 instead of 6:00 was ridiculous!

The entertainment in 2013 was very good and varied. Of course, there are always acts you don’t care for, but they were still “good” even if they weren’t your taste. This time, there has been quite a few that were just “bad” and it was hard to find anyone that thought otherwise. Plus, we had quite a few acts repeated. Some nights they chose to do a game show in place of the entertainment or play a movie. Even the movies shown in our staterooms have repeated every segment.

The “tiredness” of the ship was hard not to notice. I know she is going in for a “facelift” soon, but the bedding and towels were shabby, worn, some with holes and some stained. When we lived in Florida and needed to cover plants if it was going to freeze we often used old sheets that looked better than the ones that were used on this voyage. Chair cushions have deep depressions in them. The mattress sagged so much that it looked like a hammock. (Greg rotated it to put the sag in a better spot.)

Things that were better? We had to think long and hard on that one. They had better pool deck chairs than they did in 2013. Captain JP was much better than our Captain in 2013 that left early in every port and all aboard was usually 1 hour prior to sailing not a half hour. Plus, JP is much more personable and social. Seeing his wife and 2 year old daughter about the ship was very nice.

Our waiter, Tommy and Jr. Waiter Rolando were exceptional! Our cabin stewards Joel and then Menino were both superior. Rupesh worked in the casino as a dealer, but he was the one that handled the Bingo winners. He was a lot of fun.

It was a great cruise for seeing all the wildflowers in bloom and the flowering trees. Spring from Asia to Europe was in full bloom. Absolutely gorgeous!

Missing Yap, Micronesia; Pago Pago, American Samoa; Nuku'alofa, Tonga; Honolulu, Hawaii and Bodrum, Turkey were disappointing as was spending an extra night in Los Angeles.

Bora Bora was a nice substitute port as was Rhodes, Greece. Getting an extra night in Dubai was also a nice surprise.

As usual it’s impossible to choose a “favorite” amongst all the ports of this World Cruise. Like last time I will have a top 10 list. Oftentimes the reason something makes the list isn’t so much about the actual port, but the experience we had there. (good weather, good company, fun excursion etc.) Sometimes, it is the actual port. Honestly, there isn’t any place that we have been that we have negative feelings about. We enjoy something about every place we visit.

This list is in no particular order, except 1 & 2 and is only for the ports from this world cruise.

1.       I can say that being Panda Keepers in Chengdu, China was my favorite experience. Getting up close and personal with them was amazing.

2.       Snorkeling with whale sharks in La Paz, Mexico was an awesome experience.

3.       I love Thailand! The Phi Phi Island snorkel & sail was scenic and beautiful and I will remember the spread they put out for lunch at the beach for a long time. (arguably, the best meal of the trip)

4.       I love all things Greece! Rhodes & Zakynthos were great ports with great guides and good food. Zakynthos had some of the worst touring weather of the trip, but our guide shared her love of Greece and made us feel like family as we ate our mezes platters and listened to guitar and singing. Rhodes is just beautiful and our guide was topnotch.

5.       Bari, Italy was an unexpected charming and picturesque port with the Trulli Houses of Alberobello and the white washed houses of Ostuni. Great day here!

6.       Malta was another amazing surprise. It’s medieval – ness. Excellent guide and great sites!

7.       The Dessert Safari in Dubai was tons of fun with the dune bashing and the atmospheric setting at the Camp under the stars with entertainment, great food and friends.

8.       India had 2 highlights for me. In Cochin the Houseboats on their backwaters was serene and interesting to watch the locals along the water washing clothes, bathing and just going about their lives. In Mumbai, visiting the Dharavi Community (slums) was very enlightening. It left me with great respect for how hard the people work and how proud they are of what they have accomplished.

9.       I really enjoyed the Hill Towns of Veneto from Venice. The guide was good and the countryside was beautiful. The towns were all charming with castles and breathtaking scenery. The lunch at our guides favorite place was very good. The grappa and prosecco tastings were good too! It was a relaxing day with friends.

10.   Croatia is another place that has a lot to offer. Krka Falls was a beautiful park and just great to be out in nature and enjoying the waterfalls and the birds. The lunch here was also very special.

Even though these floated to the top in my mind, there was something special about every port we went to. Nicaragua and El Salvador were great places to visit as well as places we have been to before.

We loved Sanya, China, but it was our worst tour guide of the trip. As you can see, it really is impossible to choose just one place or even 10.

Seeing friends that we made in 2013 again and meeting new ones this time of course was a big plus! One night we sat with some people for dinner and they wanted to know how this cruise compared to our first one. We discussed the differences and they asked, “would you do it again?” Of course, the answer is YES!

On our revised itinerary, we visited 36 ports and 28 countries on 6 continents, transited through the Suez and Panama Canals and sailed 3 oceans over a total length of 33,686 Nautical Miles. It brings our total to 77 countries and all 7 continents. What’s not to love!

Here are some photos of our cabin showing how we "decorate" and use various magnetic hooks, clips and regular magnets. I collect magnets from everywhere we go and they are added to the wall as we travel. Princess also gives out tons of certificates for equator crossings, crossing the international dateline and transiting canals.

 hooks hold clothes, clips hold patters & tour schedules & my calendar with what we are doing in each port and time frame in port, I hung ornaments from Malta, Ajman, UAE & Zakinthos, Greece

 our scratch off map that we scratch after we tour a country